Enigmatic Geometric Tattoos of the Butbut of Kalinga, Philippines

There is an outpouring of local and foreign tourists flocking to the remote village of Buscalan in Tinglayan, Southern Kalinga, a mountainous region of the Cordillera located in Northern Luzon, Philippines. The main purpose of their visit is to get bato´k—traditional tattoos, which are permanent ins...

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Main Authors: De Las Peñas, Ma. Louise Antonette N, Salvador-Amores, Analyn V
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Published: Archīum Ateneo 2019
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Online Access:https://archium.ateneo.edu/mathematics-faculty-pubs/18
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00283-018-09864-6
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spelling ph-ateneo-arc.mathematics-faculty-pubs-10172022-03-18T00:18:37Z Enigmatic Geometric Tattoos of the Butbut of Kalinga, Philippines De Las Peñas, Ma. Louise Antonette N Salvador-Amores, Analyn V There is an outpouring of local and foreign tourists flocking to the remote village of Buscalan in Tinglayan, Southern Kalinga, a mountainous region of the Cordillera located in Northern Luzon, Philippines. The main purpose of their visit is to get bato´k—traditional tattoos, which are permanent inscriptions embedded in the skin—from Whang-ud Oggay, the ninety-year-old tattoo practitioner whose story has left a mark on everyone who has heard it. To reach the village of Whang-ud, you will have to undertake an arduous journey: ten hours from Metro Manila (capital region of the Philippines) to Bontoc, three hours from Bontoc to Kalinga, one hour by motorbike, and another hour of trekking to reach the village of Buscalan, where the Butbut community reside (see Figure 1 for a map). But visitors find it worth the trip: the tattooing of small designs on their legs, backs, arms, and wrists is done in less than an hour, and they bring the tattoos back to the cities as souvenirs of another culture, as representations of themselves. The bato´k of the Butbut are known for their elaborate symmetric designs, which include geometric patterns and friezes. In the village of Buscalan and in other Butbut communities in Tinglayan such as Bugnay, Butbut proper, Lokkong, and Ngibat, you may find elders who are tattooed with traditional designs. Tattooing thrives only in the village of Buscalan, however, where younger apprentices are mentored by Whang-ud. It is an unforgettable experience to witness the tattooing process and catch a glimpse of the bato´k on the bodies of the Butbut, which serve as a living testament to one of the oldest cultural tattooing practices in the world. 2019-01-01T08:00:00Z text application/pdf https://archium.ateneo.edu/mathematics-faculty-pubs/18 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00283-018-09864-6 Mathematics Faculty Publications Archīum Ateneo Geometry and Topology Mathematics
institution Ateneo De Manila University
building Ateneo De Manila University Library
continent Asia
country Philippines
Philippines
content_provider Ateneo De Manila University Library
collection archium.Ateneo Institutional Repository
topic Geometry and Topology
Mathematics
spellingShingle Geometry and Topology
Mathematics
De Las Peñas, Ma. Louise Antonette N
Salvador-Amores, Analyn V
Enigmatic Geometric Tattoos of the Butbut of Kalinga, Philippines
description There is an outpouring of local and foreign tourists flocking to the remote village of Buscalan in Tinglayan, Southern Kalinga, a mountainous region of the Cordillera located in Northern Luzon, Philippines. The main purpose of their visit is to get bato´k—traditional tattoos, which are permanent inscriptions embedded in the skin—from Whang-ud Oggay, the ninety-year-old tattoo practitioner whose story has left a mark on everyone who has heard it. To reach the village of Whang-ud, you will have to undertake an arduous journey: ten hours from Metro Manila (capital region of the Philippines) to Bontoc, three hours from Bontoc to Kalinga, one hour by motorbike, and another hour of trekking to reach the village of Buscalan, where the Butbut community reside (see Figure 1 for a map). But visitors find it worth the trip: the tattooing of small designs on their legs, backs, arms, and wrists is done in less than an hour, and they bring the tattoos back to the cities as souvenirs of another culture, as representations of themselves. The bato´k of the Butbut are known for their elaborate symmetric designs, which include geometric patterns and friezes. In the village of Buscalan and in other Butbut communities in Tinglayan such as Bugnay, Butbut proper, Lokkong, and Ngibat, you may find elders who are tattooed with traditional designs. Tattooing thrives only in the village of Buscalan, however, where younger apprentices are mentored by Whang-ud. It is an unforgettable experience to witness the tattooing process and catch a glimpse of the bato´k on the bodies of the Butbut, which serve as a living testament to one of the oldest cultural tattooing practices in the world.
format text
author De Las Peñas, Ma. Louise Antonette N
Salvador-Amores, Analyn V
author_facet De Las Peñas, Ma. Louise Antonette N
Salvador-Amores, Analyn V
author_sort De Las Peñas, Ma. Louise Antonette N
title Enigmatic Geometric Tattoos of the Butbut of Kalinga, Philippines
title_short Enigmatic Geometric Tattoos of the Butbut of Kalinga, Philippines
title_full Enigmatic Geometric Tattoos of the Butbut of Kalinga, Philippines
title_fullStr Enigmatic Geometric Tattoos of the Butbut of Kalinga, Philippines
title_full_unstemmed Enigmatic Geometric Tattoos of the Butbut of Kalinga, Philippines
title_sort enigmatic geometric tattoos of the butbut of kalinga, philippines
publisher Archīum Ateneo
publishDate 2019
url https://archium.ateneo.edu/mathematics-faculty-pubs/18
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00283-018-09864-6
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